Black Beauty 

Ayushi Reddy 

Do you get fascinated seeing dusky or dark skinned models? They are beautiful as well. Here, am not speaking about black lifes matter, but a very well conceptualised fashion photoshoot brought to Odisha for the very first time by one of the most famous and stylish designer of Ollywood Industry, Jeet Jagjeet. In a motive to experiment something new with fashion in Odisha, Jeet has been the talk of town now. 

Jeet Jagjeet

“People are convinced that only fair skinned girls look beautiful with all designer costumes, all I wanted to do is experiment with Ayushi, make her look beautiful and break the societal taboo," said Jeet Jagjeet, a designer, trying to built his individual identity in the industry since three years after his fashion course from KIIT University.  He has already worked in many award shows and big banner films like Prem Kumar and Babu Bhaijaan and has also received many prominent awards for his work.

Ayushi Reddy, a 5 feet 4inches, curly haired dark skinned model started modeling in 2016.

“Being a dark skinned model is not easy. I have faced a lot criticism and judgement based off of my skin tone and height. I don't fit the so called beauty standard of our society hence I was looked at differently,” said Ayushi Reddy.

“We never see a dark skinned model being represented as a bride on a national scale. We didn't even have dark skinned dolls till a few years back. But slowly the industry is changing its outlook. We do see a lot of dark skin representation now than we did a few years back. We still have a long way to go. My goal is simple, I don't want to be a regular model but I want to start a revolution and break this stigma of society,” added Ayushi. 

Though dusky models are very much seen on many international platforms, they are yet to flourish in Odisha.